Father, it's very easy for us not to take your word seriously, to neither take your
great mind-blowing promises very seriously, nor to take your warnings very seriously.
So Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would do a work in our minds and hearts and wills
that our minds and hearts and wills cannot do by themselves.
We ask that your Holy Spirit would move mightily in our mind and heart and will, our very soul,
our very body, so that we might hear your word, both your warnings and your promises, and
that your word will come into our lives and that we will be good soil so that as your
word comes into our lives, our life, we will bear much fruit for your glory.
Father, please so pour out your Holy Spirit upon us at this time.
We ask in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Please be seated.
Jesus is very clear and the Bible is very clear.
Hell exists.
Jesus is very clear and the Bible is very clear.
Hell exists.
This is hard to talk about as a Canadian.
In fact, the idea of hell, the biblical idea of hell is probably one of the most offensive
ideas to most modern and postmodern Canadians.
And because it is so offensive to most modern and postmodern Canadians, it's very hard for
Christians to actually hear texts about the doctrine of hell.
And that's on top of the normal types of worries and concerns that we have just as human beings.
But the Bible, Jesus is very clear and the Bible is very clear.
Hell exists.
Some of you might be wondering why on earth I would preach on a text like this and talk
about hell.
At Church of the Messiah, our mission is, I express our mission nowadays is making disciples
gripped by the gospel living for God's glory.
And we understand that we believe that God is trying to build us, is building us into
a prayerful Bible teaching evangelical church in the heart of the city with a heart for the
city and the world.
That's our vision.
And one of the main ways that we try to do that is on Sunday mornings when we gather,
we preach through books of the Bible.
And by doing so, we hope that it's the Bible that sets the agenda for us.
It's the Bible that forms us rather than us trying to form ourselves.
And so we've been preaching through the book of Revelation.
And the next two Sundays, last Sunday, we talked primarily about two of the most wonderful images
about what God has in store for us in heaven.
And in chapter 21 and chapter 22, we're going to have two weeks where we see how the Bible
tries to heal and discipline our desires by painting the most spectacular pictures of our destiny
in Christ.
But before we get that, we get to chapter 20.
And very, very four times the Bible text here talks about the lake of fire.
And so we're going to talk about that.
And I know that for many people, just mentioning hell and even saying that hell exists, that it's real,
is very alienating.
For many people in Canada, they will say that they are concerned about love and freedom and integrity
and being inclusive.
And hell comes across as unloving, unjust, repressive, and exclusive.
Everything which most Canadians don't want to have anything to do with.
But we're going to look into this topic today.
And so if you have your Bibles, and hopefully you do, let's look at Revelation chapter 20 together.
And if you've forgotten your Bibles, you don't have one, there's always a few Bibles up here at the front.
You're welcome to take one.
You can keep it as a gift or you can return it afterwards.
That's up to you.
And Revelation is the last book in the Bible.
And let's read it together and just once again hear what it is that the Bible does and does not say
about this idea of the lake of fire or of hell.
Revelation chapter 20.
Actually, before I read it, and just in case you're worried,
some of you who come to the church regularly, you'll know that most weeks I have either a three- or a four-point sermon.
I'm actually going to have 11 different things on the slide.
That means I'm not going to spend 10 minutes on each point or we'd have a two-hour sermon.
Can I hear some people say amen?
That would be a good thing.
No.
But because the topic is so serious and so controversial,
some of these points will just be up on the screen very, very briefly because I'll say them briefly.
But they'll all be online within a day or two, as will be the sermon.
And you can look, if you like to take notes or you want to write them down later, you can go online.
But just before we read Revelation chapter 20, I want to make something clearer to sort of unpack that statement.
The first one is this, or the second point, but is that the New Testament is clearer
and more insistent on the reality of hell than the Old Testament is.
The New Testament is clearer and more insistent on the reality of hell than the Old Testament is.
This is very important because many, many people will say that the Old Testament teaches a God of justice and wrath,
and the New Testament teaches a God of love and acceptance,
that the Old Testament prophets were all doom and gloom, and that Jesus is all about love.
But the fact of the matter is that the Old Testament is clearer and more insistent on the reality of hell than the Old Testament is.
Furthermore, every New Testament writer teaches that hell exists,
and no biblical writer contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.
Every New Testament writer teaches that hell exists,
and no biblical writer contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.
Now, I'm not saying that every New Testament book talks about hell.
I use the word writer, but in fact, the New Testament at a human level is written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Paul, Peter, James, and the unknown writer of Hebrews.
Eight writers.
And if you go back and check the books written by those eight writers,
humanly speaking written by those eight writers,
you will see that all of them mention hell.
Every single one.
Here's the next thing.
Jesus teaches that hell exists, and nothing he says contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.
In fact, Jesus talks about hell more than any other writer in the New Testament.
Every week, I don't know how many of you notice it,
how many of you pick up the bulletins and stuff like that,
but every week, I mean, there's announcements and stuff and some information.
There's also a blog that I write that later on goes online,
and then there's something called Growing in Grace that I think also goes online.
And sort of at the back of the bulletin, there's usually most weeks something called Going Deeper,
and that's just something you can do by yourself,
but it's even better if you connect with a few other people,
and you look at some extra scripture texts that touch on the scripture texts that I preach on.
And this week, I just give you a small sampling of some of Jesus' teachings on hell,
and that's part of the Going Deeper thing in your bulletin,
which if you lose your bulletin, I believe it's also put online.
So mindful that Jesus teaches that hell exists,
and nothing he says contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches,
let's start to read Revelation chapter 20.
It begins like this.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the abyss, or the bottomless pit,
and a great chain.
And he, that's the angel, seized the dragon,
that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years,
and threw him into the pit, the abyss,
and shut it and sealed it over him,
so that he might not deceive the nations any longer
until the thousand years were ended.
After that, he must be released for a little while.
Just sort of pause for a second.
This is a bit of an aside in terms of the overall sermon,
but it's actually very, very important,
and it does sort of fit.
It's a very, very important point,
and that is this.
At no time in the past, present, or future
is the devil equal with God.
At no time in the past, present, or future
is the devil equal with God.
It's a very common part in general writing in our culture
and thinking about the culture
as if sort of there's the devil and there's God.
And that's sort of believing the devil's propaganda.
And the Bible is very clear,
and the book of Revelation
constantly gives very, very powerful imagery
to show this.
So even here in these three verses,
it's not God that deals with the devil.
He sends an angel.
He doesn't even send an archangel.
He doesn't even send one of the four living creatures
that are closest to the throne.
He doesn't have to pick his biggest guns.
He just sends an angel.
And an angel binds Satan with no effort
and casts him into the pit.
And if you go back and you look
through all the book of Revelation,
there's several times in the book of Revelation,
it'll come up in a few verses,
where the devil gathers an army to fight against God.
And every time the army,
the devil gathers this massive army
to fight against God,
or the beast, or the false prophet,
in every case they all gather,
armed to the teeth, ready for war,
God shows up, and there's no battle.
The devil instantly finds himself defeated.
And so it's very important for us
to hear this,
that the propaganda,
that somehow there's a type of equality
between the devil and God,
it's just completely and utterly rejected in the Bible.
God has no equal.
He has rivals,
in the sense of people who,
idols and demons,
who are rivals for our affection.
But he has no true rival.
There are no other gods.
And the devil is not his equal.
This is also very important for us
in several other ways.
And that is because
one of the things about evil in our lives,
whether it's just moral evil,
or whether it's a type of demonic evil,
is that moral evil and demonic evil
always talks as if it is inevitable
and undefeatable.
And as if it has a proper claim.
And as if you have to surrender to it
because you will suffer harm
if you do not surrender to it
because it is inevitable.
And whether that evil
is a type of evil in society,
that slavery is inevitable,
for instance,
which is what people would have said
to Wilberforce,
or in our day
that things like maybe abortion
are inevitable,
that they can never be defeated,
that they are here to stay,
that any type of evil
will always claim
that it is inevitable
and unable to be defeated.
And this is never true.
It is never true.
And it's pictured in picture language
here in the book of Revelation.
But just an angel
goes and binds Satan
for a thousand years.
Just an angel.
At no time in the past,
present, or future,
is the devil equal with God.
Now, we're going to keep reading,
and I apologize to some people.
Some people here,
you've been putting up
with me preaching on Revelation
for so many weeks,
and you've been desperately
wanting to find out
if George is a premillennialist,
an amillennialist,
or a postmillennialist.
And those of you
who aren't used to
that type of Christian language,
you've just wondered,
what on earth I said?
But for certain people
in Christian culture,
this is the big question.
And whole denominations
are partially founded
on whether you're premillennial,
amillennial,
or postmillennial.
And in fact,
all that argument
comes up in these few verses
in Revelation chapter 20.
And I'm going to read it.
It's very controversial,
but I'm going to bypass it
with a simple little comment,
because I think
in our day and age,
the far more pressing question
is what exactly
is the lake of fire?
And are people
actually cast into it
by God?
And does hell exist?
But to get to those texts,
we have to read through
this text.
So let's continue
at verse 4.
So the devil's just been
released for a little while.
Then verse 4,
then I saw thrones
and seated on them
were those to whom
the authority to judge
was committed.
Also I saw the souls
of those who had been
beheaded for the testimony
of Jesus and for the word
of God,
and those who had not
worshipped the beast
or its image
and had not received
its mark on their foreheads
or their hands.
They came to life
and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years.
The rest of the dead
did not come to life
until the thousand years
were ended.
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy
is the one
who shares
in the first resurrection.
Over such,
the second death
has no power.
But they
will be priests
of God
and of Christ
and they will reign
with him
for a thousand years.
And when the thousand years
are ended,
Satan will be released
from his prison,
the pit,
the abyss,
and will come out
to deceive the nations
that are at the four corners
of the earth,
Gog and Magog,
to gather them for battle.
Their number is like
the sand of the sea
and they marched up
over the broad plain
of the earth
and surrounded the camp
of the saints
in the beloved city.
Ha!
What happens?
But fire came down
from heaven
and consumed them.
There's no fight.
And the devil
who had deceived them
was thrown
into the lake of fire
and sulfur
where the beast
and the false prophet were.
That was last week,
chapter 19.
And they will be tormented
day and night
forever and ever.
Let's just pause there.
You can keep your finger
in the Bible.
Just a very,
very brief comment
about the millennium
and all that stuff.
I read 20 pages
of a big hardcover
academic commentary
going through
Greek tenses
and verbs
and roots
and trying to decide
how much of this
is symbolic
and how much
of it's literal.
And, you know,
I wrestled with it,
made notes and stuff.
At the end of it,
I actually did
something like this.
It was actually
in this book.
It's sort of
before my notes.
And I sort of put the,
sort of put my Bible down
and the book down.
I sort of sat back
and thought,
you know,
I don't have to figure
this stuff out.
God's going to do
what God's going to do.
I don't have to figure out
whether there's going to be
a literal thousand years
and it's exactly literal
like this
or whether the thousand years
is just a picture
of the church.
It's a symbolism
of the current situation
and then Jesus
just comes back.
It's all,
I don't have to figure it out.
God's going to do
what God's going to do.
I mean,
that's something
we should get an amen for.
We're not an amen
type of congregation.
Not that that would be bad
if we became one.
But that's just sort of,
so I'm not going to tell you,
you know,
my view on it
is God's going to do
what God's going to do.
The real thing
for most Canadians
is that verse 10,
and the devil
who had deceived them
was thrown into
the lake of fire
and sulfur
where the beast
and the false prophet were
and they will be tormented
day and night
forever and ever.
So let's start to try
to unpack it.
The first thing
I want to say is this,
if you could put it up
on the screen.
Hell is a real place
of punishment,
destruction,
and banishment.
Hell is a real place
of punishment,
destruction,
and banishment.
And I put place
in quotation marks
not because I'm trying
to get out of anything.
What the Bible is teaching
is that hell is real
in the fullest sense
of the word.
But,
I'm not going to,
hell,
I'm not saying a but
to get rid of hell
is real in the fullest sense
of the word
and that's what
the Bible is teaching.
How do these different
images go together?
Like some of you
might be wondering
how is it that the Bible
talks about,
I remember Ken reading
that there's a second,
like hell is like
a second death,
but how is it that
hell is like a second death
and then there's
this eternal torment?
How is it that,
like if you go back,
George,
and look at Jesus' teaching,
how is it that he talks
about hell as being
a place of darkness
yet it's also
a place of fire?
And I could multiply
examples like that.
And the fact of the matter
is,
is that when we look
at these types of,
when the Bible is talking
about something
which is literally
outside of our experience
and our categories
of thought.
And the Bible is trying
to communicate to us
something in a series
of images
and the Bible
isn't saying
that we should sort of
use one image
to discard the rest.
We use all of the images
and we can't figure out
on this side of the grave
or this side of Jesus returning
what parts of these
different images
are literal
and what parts of them
are symbolic
and metaphorical.
We can't figure that out
on this side of the grave.
But here's what we can know,
that both in this teaching
of the lake of fire
and you look through
the New Testament teaching,
the New Testament teaching
can be summarized in this.
Hell is a real place.
of punishment,
destruction,
and banishment.
And that's what we can see here
even if we're not entirely sure
what it means
or what's symbolic
or what's metaphorical.
The question of how
fire and darkness
and death
which implies
that it's all over
and how that all goes together,
God knows how it goes together,
but it's
we just
what we can know is that
and that we should not
live our lives
hoping that it is something
other than that.
That
hell is real
in the fullest sense.
In fact,
when we
start to lose
a sense
of this,
that hell
is a real place
of punishment,
destruction,
and banishment,
when
because of the pressure
that we feel
that
to talk about hell
is to talk about
something which is
unjust,
unloving,
repressive,
and exclusive,
and so we try
to adapt
and
make hell
into a series
of metaphors
that empties it
of this,
and I don't mean
to offend anybody
who's here.
I'm sorry if I offend,
but I'm going to
still say it.
To move away
from a doctrine
and understanding
that the Bible
teaches something
like this
is to move
into residual
Christianity,
not full-bodied
Christianity.
It's to move
to a residual
understanding
of who Jesus is.
It's to move
into abstractions
in something
which is ephemeral
and something
which lasts substance.
It's to move
away from Jesus
in his full reality
and God
in his full
existence.
It is to move
away from something
which is full-bodied
and full-throated
and able
to save
and deliver.
And to move
away from this
is to move
into residual
Christianity,
not into deeper
Christianity.
Now some of you
say,
okay,
George,
don't you think
that if that's true,
if hell is a real
place,
and you're putting
place because
when you're talking
about,
what's it like
to step out
of time?
I sort of get it,
but if you're really
saying,
George,
that hell is real
in the fullest
sense of the word
and it's a place,
whatever that means
in terms of the new
heaven and the new
earth and all,
but it's real
punishment,
destruction,
banishment.
George,
if Jesus taught
that,
don't you think
he's a bit
of a scoundrel?
Don't you think
he maybe needs
to know the Buddha?
Don't you think,
George,
that type of
teaching is
unloving
and repressive?
We're going to
talk about that
now,
but before I do,
I'm going to dig
myself deeper
into a hole.
I'm going to say
this before we
read Revelation
chapter 11,
20 verses 11
to 15,
because up until
now it's just
been like the
devil and the
beast and the
false prophet
who are in
hell,
but Revelation
20 is going
to end with
people being
thrown into
the lake
of fire.
I'm going
to say
this,
Canadians
see the
biblical
teaching on
hell as
causing
spiritual,
moral,
and intellectual
problems,
but the
Bible presents
hell as
solving
spiritual,
moral,
and intellectual
problems.
That's part of
the problem
why I say
that to move
away from
understanding hell
as being real
is to end
up moving
into residual
Christianity,
not real
Christianity.
And I don't
mean to
offend,
I probably
just offended
virtually every
Anglican
United Church
minister in
the city
by saying
that.
And in
many
evangelical
denominations,
there would
be a whole
pile of
youth pastors
and even
senior pastors
who for me
to say that
will have
gotten very
squirmy and
would maybe
end up,
if this was
a room that
I was speaking
to of them,
they would
send me
angry emails
afterwards.
But the
fact of the
matter is,
is that
Canadians see
the biblical
teaching on
hell as
causing
spiritual,
moral,
and intellectual
problems,
but the
Bible presents
hell as
solving
spiritual,
moral,
and intellectual
problems.
Now,
I'm going to
give you a
couple of
examples in
a moment
as to
what I mean
by some of
that,
to try to
see that,
in fact,
the teaching
on hell
does solve
problems,
that,
in fact,
to deny
hell causes
more problems
than it is
to uphold
the teaching
of hell.
I'm going to
give you a
few examples
about that,
thought experiments
in a moment,
to try to help
you to see
that.
These are all
secondary to
the Bible,
because,
you see,
one of the
things is that
the Bible,
part of the
thing is that,
you know,
for us,
it's so easy
for us to
think of God
as being tiny
and people
as being big,
that Canada
is big
and God
is tiny,
that my
problems are
big and God
is tiny.
It's so easy
for us to
think of God
as being,
you know,
it's so easy,
you know,
many of you have
heard me speak
before that the
normal way that
we understand
Jesus coming
into a locked
room,
you know,
we think of him
in terms of
Star Trek
analogies,
and we think
that somehow
or another
it's as if
Jesus becomes
like immaterial,
like a ray
or like sunlight,
and he becomes
so immaterial
that he can
pass through the
walls and come
in the room,
but the Bible
understands that
what's happened
with Jesus
is that Jesus
after he's died
and risen from
the dead,
he's so real
that the walls
are as if
they are immaterial,
that Jesus
is more real
than the walls,
that God
is more real
than we are,
that God
is more real
than we are,
and so it is
that for the
Bible writers
who have this
deeper view of
God than is
common for us
as Canadians,
they understand
the huge problems,
how can the
unclean dwell
with the clean
forever,
how can the
impure dwell
with the pure,
how can the
evil dwell
with perfect
goodness,
how can that
which is of
darkness,
not only that
which is,
how can darkness
dwell with
unapproachable
light,
how can darkness
dwell with light,
how can darkness
dwell not only
with unapproachable
light,
but how can we
ever approach
unapproachable
light,
and the Bible
see,
and how is it
that God can be
completely and utterly,
how is it that we
can do bad things,
and God must judge
these bad things,
and the Bible
has this
deeper,
richer,
more powerful
understanding of
the existence
and the reality
of God,
and at no point
in time does the
biblical writers agree
with what goes
on in my mind,
in my imagination,
in my heart,
where I am
constantly being
pushed to
understand God
is tiny,
and people are
big,
God is tiny,
and the country
is big,
God is tiny,
and money is big,
God is tiny,
and sex is big,
God is tiny,
and my boss
is big,
and the Bible
never once
accepts that.
The Bible
always understands
God is immense,
even the devil
is not his equal,
even the devil,
God does not have
to send the four
living creatures
or the 24 elders
or some mighty
archangel,
but an angel
to deal with it,
and so it is
in a whole raft
of levels
that the Bible
understands
that the doctrine
of hell
and how it fits
with the person
of Jesus
solves countless
spiritual,
moral,
and intellectual
problems,
but we,
for whom,
are always
being drifting
into seeing
God as tiny,
and heaven
is just
that good place
to go where
you die,
when you die,
that heaven
is just living
on in people's
memories.
I'm not trying
to put people
down by saying
that,
I'm really not,
I apologize
if the tone
of my voice
sounded like
I was,
but I'm just
trying to illustrate
how for most
of us as Canadians,
heaven and God
is tiny,
abstract,
wispy,
and not at all
what's being
portrayed here.
It's part of the
reason we have
problems getting
our minds
around the Bible
and understanding
the depths
and the immensity
of grace.
Let's read
verses 11 to 15.
Then I saw
a great white
throne,
and him who
was seated
on it,
that is,
he sees God.
It doesn't
describe God,
but he sees God.
This is powerful
few words.
From his presence,
earth and sky
fled away,
and no place
was found for them.
What did I just
tell you about
the Bible
constantly portrays
God as immense
and more real?
God shows up
in our created
order,
unveiled,
and earth
and sky
flee away,
and no place
is found for them.
We think of the
earth as being
so powerful
and strong.
God shows up,
and earth
flees.
It's also a
picture of as
God comes and
brings with him
the new heaven
and the new
earth,
this earth
and the heaven
that we now
live in,
it flees.
They don't,
in a sense,
flee.
Verse 12,
and I saw the
dead,
great and small,
Bill Gates
and the lowest
untouchable
and the poorest
country in the
planet,
standing before
the throne,
and books
were opened.
That's bad
news,
folks.
Then another
book was opened,
which is a book
of life,
which I'll talk
about later.
And the dead
were judged
by what was
written in the
books according
to what they
had done.
And the sea
gave up the
dead who were
in it,
death and
Hades gave up
the dead
who were in
them,
and they were
judged,
each of them
according to
what they had
done.
Then death
and Hades
were thrown
into the
lake of fire.
Notice that,
folks?
Death is
thrown into
the lake of
fire.
Death dies.
Death dies
in two stages.
The true
beginning of
death,
the true
death of
death happens
with the
death of
the Son
of God
upon the
cross.
The day
the Son
of God,
Jesus,
our Savior,
dies upon
the cross,
died upon
the cross,
is the day
that death
died.
Amen!
But the
final
completion
of that
death
will happen
in the
future.
Death is
thrown
into the
lake of
fire.
This is
the second
death,
the lake
of fire.
And if
anyone's
name was
not found
written in
the book
of life,
he was
thrown
into
the lake
of fire.
does this
show that
God is
unloving?
Last
week,
if you
go back
and listen
to the
sermon
online,
we talked
about two
powerful images
in the
book of
Revelation
chapter 19.
It's the
image of
the bride
coming down
from heaven.
It's a
corporate image
of the
church,
and there's
also an
image of
being very
invited to
a feast.
And I
talked at
some length
about how
these are
very powerful
images to
help start
to order
and heal
our desires
and our
longings
and our
yearnings,
to captivate
our imagination.
I pointed
out how
Jesus even
points to
the feast
in one of
the times
when he's
describing
the Lord's
supper,
and that one
of the
things we
can do
when we
come to
communion
is pray
that God
will fan
into flame
within us,
a longing
and yearning
to feast
with him
in heaven
when we
come to
remember the
death and
resurrection of
Jesus as we
celebrate the
Lord's
supper.
And so it's
definitely the
case that,
and it's going
to be seen
next week,
you know,
after hell we
have two
weeks on
heaven,
chapter 21
and chapter
22,
and the
fact of the
matter is
that the
Bible presents
in a
picture of
God's
intention for
us,
which is
social and
loving,
and it's
an eternal
relationship with
God of
intimacy and
companionship and
trust with no
exit strategies,
which is all
about love,
which is deep
love, and
which is for
all eternity,
and it's in
God's presence,
and it's us
standing with
God,
unashamed,
being able to
stand in
unapproachable
light,
and have
ourselves
completely
open and
transparent,
and every
detail of
our lives
transparent to
him and to
all others,
and seen
through the
eyes of
love,
and experiences
love,
and experiences
peace,
and experiences
rest,
and the
Bible paints
the most
exalted
picture of
our destiny,
of unending
existence redeemed
by Jesus in
the presence of
God, and
experiencing God
as love,
and that's
what the
picture that
the Bible
will present
to us.
In fact,
the Bible
presents love
and heaven
not as
abstract,
but as
very,
very powerful.
Woody Allen
is famous for
complaining about
the contemporary
understanding that
when we die,
we live on in
people's memories,
and Woody Allen
famously said that
when he dies,
he doesn't want to
live on in
people's memories,
he wants to
live on in
his condo,
that living on
just in people's
memories isn't
very good.
Many people will
say that when
they die,
they just go to
a better place,
but the Bible
says that when
you die,
you're going to
be with God.
Imagine for a
second there's a
person that you
don't particularly
care for.
It's a romantic
thing.
Imagine that you're
single, and
there's a person
you don't particularly
care for, and you
know they want to
spend time with you,
and you have a
friend who wants
to set you up
with that person,
and one day you
agree to go on a
long car drive,
you're going to
drive to Windsor,
that's a long car
drive, you're
leaving from
Ottawa, you're
going to go to a
long car drive
with Windsor, and
you show up, and
your friend picks
you up, and lo and
behold in the car is
this person that you
don't like, but your
friend's been trying
to set you up with,
and you're pretty mad,
but you get in the
car, and then the
very, very next thing
you know is your
friend gets out of
the car, and the
person drives, that
person you've been
trying to avoid, they
drive the car, and
you're now stuck in
the car all the way to
Windsor with somebody
that you've been trying
to avoid, you don't
really care for, and
now you have to drive
all the way to Windsor
with them, stuck in a
car with them.
When you get back, or
when you have a
freak moment, and you
call up your friend, and
what will you say to
them?
You will say, how dare
you make me spend 10
hours with that
person?
How dare you make me
spend 10 hours with
that person?
You know I don't want
to be with that
person, you know I
don't like them, you
know I don't want to
be in their presence,
and you made me spend
10 hours with them.
How dare you?
So, what's it going
to be like if we die
and we have to spend
eternity with God?
And we don't want to.
Here's what I'm going
to suggest, and we're
going to start to unpack
it a little bit more,
that how dare you, if
you could put it up, how
dare you is the anthem
of hell.
How dare you is the
anthem of hell.
The doctrine of hell is
completely and utterly
unloving.
Well, let me just
suggest this.
Imagine for a moment
that you're a single
woman, and you meet
this fellow, and you
seem to just meet by
chance, you meet by
chance, you strike up a
conversation, everything
is perfect about this
fellow, and ask you
after just a couple
of dates, you're
telling all your
girlfriends about how
you've met this
spectacular guy.
He's like, you already
sense this unbelievably
deep connection, and
then it just, the more
you get to know this
person, the more you
seem to love him and
like him, and then you
finally decide that
you're going to get
married, and then just
the day before the
wedding rehearsal, so
two days before the
wedding, you go in to
visit your beloved in
his office, and the
secretary who knows
you very well says,
oh yeah, he's not
here, he's gone out
for some coffee, just
go and sit down, he'll
be in in a second, and
you walk in and you
notice that the
computer's on, and you
notice that there's an
email, and you don't
think you should read
this email, but you
start to read this
email, and all of a
sudden, you start to
feel horrified, and
then you start to press
down the replies,
because it's a long
list of replies, and
then you discover that
this fellow had, a
month before he met
you, met a very, very
rich man who was an
experiment, said, I'd
like you to see if you
could woo this young
woman, and get her to
marry you, and if you
can do it, I'll give
you 50 million dollars.
Would you still marry
the man?
No revenge fantasy
Hollywood thing, you
marry him when you know
the 50 million's in the
bank, you divorce him, and
get 25 million under
Canada's no fault, divorce
laws.
Okay, none of that.
But you might do that
out of a revenge thing,
wouldn't you?
You wouldn't marry him.
How is it that if heaven
is like being married to
God, and you're forced to
spend eternity married with
God, wouldn't you want to
say to God, how dare you?
How dare you want to have
that type of intimacy with
me?
How dare you?
Want to force me to go to
spend eternity in love with
you?
How dare you do that?
People think that the
doctrine of hell, that
everybody should go to
heaven, that nobody should
go to hell, that that's a
sort of a more, it's
actually more in keeping
with freedom, but is it in
keeping with freedom?
You go out after the
service, and you go on
Rideau Street to have a
coffee, and you meet a
street person, and this
street person's really,
really messed up.
They're very, very deeply
addicted to drugs and
alcohol.
And then you realize that
there's a politician, you
see many street people like
this, and then a politician
arises who says, I can very
simply solve the problem of
all drug addiction.
What I'm going to do is I'm
going to have the police pick
up every person who has an
alcohol problem and every
drug addict.
And we're going to be very,
very humane, and we're going
to be very, very loving.
We're going to put them in a
place, and in that place
there will be no drugs and
no alcohol, and we'll make
sure that if any guard ever
tries to smuggle something
in, they will be completely
and severely punished.
And because of the fact that
drug addicts, even though
many drug addicts have been
in and out of the drunk tank
and in and out of rehab
things many times, but as soon
as they leave and they get
clean, they go back in the
street, they go right back to
using drugs and alcohol.
What we're going to do is
we just know that that's the
way drug addicts and
alcoholics are, so we're
going to put them in this
place where there's no
alcohol and there's no
drugs, and they're going to
live there till they die.
They're going to live there
till they die, and we'll give
them all their food, all their
meals, the latest movies, all
the sporting equipment, but
they'll just never be able to
leave, and we've solved the
drug problem.
And you would say, how dare you
take away that person's
freedom?
How dare you do that?
So how is it that God could
force people to go to spend an
eternity with him when they
don't want to?
Wouldn't they want to say to
God, how dare you force me to go
somewhere in a way that I don't
want to?
How dare you, God, do that?
How could God force them?
C.S. Lewis said that the teaching
on hell in the Bible is the most
profound teaching in the world on
human freedom and on the dignity
of human beings?
Some of us might say that the
teaching of hell is not very
inclusive, that it's very, very
exclusive, and we have in the back
of our mind this idea that,
you know, we sort of have in our
idea that, you know, you sort of,
we sort of know that maybe God has
to put some sort of people who are
bad into, you know, to have some type
of a punishment, but, you know,
basically we have this sort of idea at
the same time as hell is sort of open
and ended is that basically common
human religion is you go and you do
some things, you do more nice things,
you do bad things, and then God sort of
has this obligation to put you into
heaven, and that sounds all very,
very well and good, but if you think
about it for a second, it's actually
not very inclusive at all.
What about people who just really
aren't going to be able to manage
that?
I'm not making a political comment on
this right now, but I'm just using
something which is very common in the
press.
How many people think Rob Ford would
be able to manage that?
I know that Rob Ford has his
defenders, but boy, there's not many
people who think that Rob Ford would
be able to manage that, do you?
In fact, the idea that sort of we just
do more good things than we do bad
things, and we sort of define what
those are, that actually ends up
usually leaving out any type of hope
for people who just really seem to be
deeply messed up.
And the idea that somehow God would
just sort of force, can you just
imagine that the writers of the
Toronto Star or the CBC, that they
were going to have to spend eternity
with Rob Ford?
And they would say to God, how dare you
make me do that?
How dare you make me do that?
And just sort of in, in fact, even this
idea that God is unjust sending people to
hell, we can start to get a sense that it
might very well be that in this particular
text in Revelation 20, it emphasizes that
God throws, but in fact, the other
teaching in the rest of Scripture that
somehow or another, hell is something
that we freely choose, we start to see
that that actually starts to make some
sense.
That that actually starts to make some
sense, because how dare you is the
anthem that we sing.
See, here's what the Bible teaches.
Since no one deserves heaven, unless God
intervenes, hell is my destination.
Since no one deserves heaven, unless God
intervenes, hell is my destination.
And I want to stand before you, and I want
to tell you, and I say this with no sense
of pride, no sense of vanity, no sense of
arrogance.
But Spurgeon once famously said that the
Christian faith is just one beggar telling
another beggar where to find bread.
And I can tell you that apart from what
Jesus has done for me on the cross, that my
destination is hell.
Because I've given my life to Jesus, God, not
weighing my merits, but pardoning my
offenses, my destination.
If I was to die today, I would not go to
hell.
I would go to heaven.
And I say that to you not because I think
that I am better than anybody here in the
room, not because I think there's anything
in me particularly worthy of going to
heaven.
But I understand that no one deserves
heaven, and unless God intervenes, hell is
my destination.
I understand that the cry, how dare you, is
a cry that deeply resonates within my soul and
within my spirit.
And unless God intervenes, hell is not only
where God would put me, but hell is what I
would freely choose.
See, here's what the Bible teaches, and we'll
just say one more thing after this and then
we'll wrap up.
That God takes no delight in the death of a
sinner, but rather that I will turn from my
wickedness and live.
It's almost a direct quote from the book of
Ezekiel where it's said three times.
Those of you familiar with Anglican tradition
in morning prayer will know that that's a
regular part of morning and evening prayer.
God takes no delight in the death of a sinner, but
rather that I will turn from my wickedness and
live.
And what happens is if you go back and look
more clearly at Revelation chapter 20, you'll
see that there's two books.
And one of the two books that we're judged by is
the Lamb's Book of Life.
And one of the things to describe conversion is
that we're taken out of the books and put into
the Lamb's Book of Life.
And how does that transfer happen?
It happens because on the cross, Jesus took my
punishment, destruction, and banishment, and
offers me his standing with God.
Hallelujah.
Remember I described that hell is the place of
punishment, destruction, and banishment.
And the Bible teaches that on the cross, Jesus took
my punishment, my destruction, and my banishment.
He took mine, and he offers me his standing with God.
That's what Jesus does on the cross.
He experiences the functional equivalent of hell for me.
The punishment that brought me peace was upon him.
By his wounds, I am healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all.
Before Jesus died on the cross, he's in the Garden of
Gethsemane, and he knows that when he dies upon the cross,
he's not dying for anything that he has done wrong himself.
But that literally, literally, all of the things that I've
done wrong that demand punishment, he will have those fall
upon him, and he will take my punishment.
And the imagery is of the cup of wrath of God.
And Jesus will drink my cup for me when he dies upon the cross.
And his destruction is clear.
He dies a death, a horrible death upon the cross.
And his banishment from the Father is also clear.
I've been married to Louise for 32 years.
You know, I can have somebody that I meet at Starbucks.
Sometimes people ask me what I do at Starbucks, and I tell them I'm
a pastor of a church, and you can see their face fall.
And you can just tell that they're rejecting me because I say that.
I can tell they've just rejected me.
And I just met the person just a few moments ago, and I feel some pain with it.
One of the...
But if Louise, after 32 years of marriage, was to leave me, to tell me I had to leave
her and that I could never see her again, the pain of that would be unbearable for me.
And Jesus, who is the second person of the Trinity, and the Holy Spirit can be understood
as the unending love of the Son of God for the Father and the unending love of the Father
for the Son.
And that has been going on for all eternity.
And on the cross, as Jesus bears the rebellion and the sin and my death in his very, very person,
as he bears my punishment and my destruction, he experiences my banishment from God.
And we see that on the cross when Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And he does it because he's bearing my punishment, my destruction, and my banishment.
And he offers me his perfect standing before the Father.
And when I put my faith and trust in Jesus, that means I'm accepting what he's done for me
on the cross and the great exchange that he offers.
Please stand.
The Christian life begins by saying, there's something I have to acknowledge.
And that I have to acknowledge is that the anthem of my life is, how dare you?
And then there's something that I need to believe.
I need to believe that Jesus has dealt with that which keeps me far from God.
And then I have to consider something.
I have to consider that if I accept what was just written on the screen, if I understand
and accept that Jesus has borne my punishment, my destruction, and my banishment, and he offers
me his place with the Father, that he can reconcile me to God and make me God's adopted child forever,
if I accept that, if I accept Jesus into my life as Savior and Lord, that as I'm gripped
by the gospel, my life will change.
But then there's that moment of decision, that knowing, acknowledging, and believing, and considering
the cost, still we would have Jesus as our Savior.
We would have Jesus not only save us from our anthem, but that he would teach us to sing a
new song, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and glory and honor and might
and majesty and love forever and ever.
Amen.
And there's no time better than right now to make such a transaction with God and to speak
to Jesus and say, Jesus, you know what the anthem of my life has been.
Still you died for me on the cross.
Please take me as yours and be my Savior and my Lord.
There's no time better than now to pray such a prayer to God.
And your own words are all that need, but I'm going to very slowly, with gaps, pray a prayer
to help you.
And if that is what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do, you don't have to pray it out loud,
you don't have to do anything to show it, but just repeat after me, not speaking to me,
because I'm not the Savior, but speaking to Jesus.
Maybe it's appropriate we pray it with a screaming child in the background.
The echoes of hell.
So if the Holy Spirit has put such a burden on your heart, just quietly to God, not to
me or to your neighbor, but quietly to God, say this.
Jesus, I acknowledge that my anthem has been, how dare you.
I am sorry for this, and I do not want to sing it ever again.
Thank you for dying for me, and bearing the punishment, destruction, and banishment I deserve.
Please come into my life as my Savior and my Lord.
And never let me go.
Make me your disciple, gripped by the gospel, living for your glory.
Amen.
I'm just going to pray in closing.
Father, you know those of us who've once again done some type of transaction with you
because we realize that even though we've been redeemed, that that song of how dare you
has been becoming the song of our lives.
And Father, we know we turned from that when we gave our lives to Jesus, and it's growing
within us, and we thank you that you've delivered it from us.
And we ask, Father, that you would do a mighty work of your Holy Spirit in our lives to have
that be stilled and have that be quietened.
And Father, we give you thanks once again for what your Son did for us on the cross.
May what he did for us on the cross so grip us that we can live for your glory.
Father, we thank you for what he did for us on the cross.
And Father, if there are any here who have for the first time prayed and given their lives
to Jesus, we ask that your Holy Spirit would fall upon them with might and power and deep
conviction.
Seal such a decision to them and seal them to be yours forever and ever and ever and ever
and ever and ever.
Amen.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.